


Let Sleeping Cats Lie

by selkieskin



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Animals, Canon Compliant, Cats, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Dorms, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, Love, M/M, Neck Kissing, Pet Cuddling, Pets, Sleeping Together, Slice of Life, falling asleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selkieskin/pseuds/selkieskin
Summary: Ten is distracted from his Chinese assignment by a very insistent cat - Louis, who wants to be fussed over, right now. Once Ten is trapped by the cat away from his phone, it keeps buzzing. Cats: what can you do?
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten & Louis | WayV Ensemble's Cat, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 16
Kudos: 153





	Let Sleeping Cats Lie

**Author's Note:**

> This may be tagged JohnTen, but it's probably at least 90% LouisTen. 
> 
> Note: _Feizai_ = 'fatso' in Cantonese. It's what the Cantonese WayV members started calling Louis. The rest have picked it up.

Ten's focus was broken, not for the first time, by a block of solid cat suddenly jumping onto his notepad, inserting himself between Ten's face and the page. He couldn't help the fond smile, however much he needed to get this page of Chinese characters written out tonight. He was seeing his teacher in the morning.

He leant his head to the side, trying to look around Louis, only to be met with Louis pretending Ten just meant to rub their faces together in greeting. Ten let out an amused huff, knowing this game.

"I'm sorry Louis, I'm busy right now," Ten said out loud, scooping him up and plopping him unceremoniously on the floor. Louis stayed there, affronted, for no more than a few seconds before he turned around and jumped back into exactly the same place. 

"Sorry, Louis, but…"

Ten put him onto the floor again. He jumped back up. 

"Feizai!"

A third time, and by now his tail was twitching, very insistent that Ten leave his work alone and pay attention to the much more important cat in the room. Ten sighed, feigning disappointment. He was beginning to give in - he supposed he could just wake up early and make up the time instead. Louis could be very persuasive.

He stroked Louis a few times before scratching just under his chin, feeling the cat lean in and fix him a victorious look through hooded eyes.

"I know, I know," Ten replied. "How could I ever resist you?"

He picked Louis up and held him like a baby, which he knew the fat cat loved, evidenced by how he immediately started to purr like a rusty engine. Ten couldn't help squeezing him up to his face and giving him a kiss on his furry head. 

"Feizai," he said again, affectionately, feeling how heavy he was getting. All the WayV members - even Kun, however much he scolded Ten for the same thing - fed the pets treats sometimes, but Ten had to admit that he really did feed Louis, his favourite, far more than he was supposed to. Still, he was still growing, and feeling his solid weight was reassuring somehow. This cat would never want for anything.

Books forgotten, Ten stood up, arms full of cat, and flopped gently down onto the bed with him. 

Louis was used to this routine and lay there patiently while Ten lay on his side and curled himself round the cat, watching to make sure Louis could arrange himself into a comfortable position in the crook of his arm, careful not to make any movements to disturb him or make him decide to suddenly leave, the way cats did sometimes.

Louis twisted so the top of his head smushed against Ten's shoulder and kept purring, and Ten's heart melted, feeling the vibrations throughout his small cat body. 

"You're so cute, yes you are," he found himself crooning in Thai, using his non-trapped arm to smooth over his soft fur, the whole length of his body, head to tail. His fur was so silky and healthy, Ten loved to feel it under his hand.

Ten's phone, abandoned on the desk, started to buzz.

Ten twisted his neck to see where it was - much too far away for him to reach from the bed, of course - but that movement made Louis stop purring, anxious that he would move. A dire warning.

Ten immediately obeyed and turned back to him, giving his head another quick kiss in apology and resuming the stroking, making his purr-motor start up again with renewed vigour. Whoever was phoning could wait.

Sure enough, the phone rang out, and it buzzed with a text instead. Perfect. He could pick it up later, too engrossed in keeping Louis purring to care about any of his other responsibilities.

Louis looked at Ten as he did this, making sure he was paying him the proper attention and basking in it, relaxed in the way that no other animal but a cat could be. It was so therapeutic, having them around. After years of nothing but people - and rowdy people at that - these simple, quiet moments were such a balm to the soul. He started to regret slightly not having got under the blanket before they both settled down - especially where his t-shirt was riding up and letting the cold air get to his back and side - but as long as Louis was happy, it didn't matter. He could feel his animal warmth against his front, and that was enough. Ten's phone buzzed with another text. He ignored it.

After 5 minutes or so, his phone rang again. 

"Sorry," he murmured to the unbothered cat, starting to feel his arm going numb from the cat's weight, but still not daring to try and move it beyond wiggling his fingers to keep the circulation going. He pressed his forehead against Louis', sparking a happy little _prrp_ from the cat. "I'm not usually this popular."

Louis shifted against him, hooking a subtle claw into his t-shirt and using it as leverage to snuggle his face in deeper. Almost sighing a purr, he started to slow down into sleep, rolling a little to expose his round pale belly. Ten smiled, just gazing at his pink-padded paws in adoration before looking back to his sleepy face, letting his fingers curl around Louis' wide side, holding him there before he rolled too near the edge of the bed.

The door pushed open, and Ten bristled a little at the disturbance, glaring protectively, but it was only Hendery.

"Uh, Johnny's texting me, he's outside," he said, concerned. "Is everything alright with you guys? I can tell him you're not here if you need."

"No, no, nothing like that," Ten said, suddenly realising who those calls must have been from. 

"Oh. Are you trapped?" Hendery asked, taking in the situation.

"Yes."

"Want me to pass you your phone?"

Ten thought for a second, but realised that there was no way he could move either arm now without disturbing the cat.

"I'm too trapped," he admitted. "Hendery, can you tell him to just come straight up?"

"Will do," Hendery agreed, before rolling his eyes at Ten's predicament. "You do spoil that cat."

"He deserves to be spoilt," came Ten's reply, like the good cat-slave he was.

"Yeah yeah," said Hendery, pretending to be above that even though they both knew he'd do the same. "I'll go and let Johnny in. Kun wanted me to tell you there's hotpot in the fridge still from yesterday, you can both have some if you ever escape."

"Thanks."

"Any time."

And Hendery left, to be replaced a few minutes later - after hearing a flurry of Mandarin-accented Korean from the hallway as he heard the others say hello and offer up reheated hotpot - by Johnny.

He hung in the doorway a second, just drinking in the sight.

"If you make him move, I'll chop your legs off," Ten threatened idly in English from his position on the bed. Johnny's face split into a fond grin in response.

"Noted," he said, and started to move towards the bed.

"I mean it," Ten threatened again.

"I'm gonna move you as little as possible," Johnny reassured, before carefully climbing onto the bed behind Ten and pressing a slow deliberate kiss to the fold between Ten's shoulder and neck. Warmth spread from that spot to all of Ten's body, but he was in the mood to tease Johnny a bit instead of admitting that.

"Why is your nose so cold?" he complained.

"Mm, guess whose fault that is?" Johnny replied, pressing another kiss there before arranging himself carefully to spoon against Ten.

Ten sighed, just letting himself be cradled as he in turn cradled his cat, his heart full to bursting with all of this love. Johnny's cold hand, however, came to rest on the exposed bit of skin above his hip, and Ten did not have the body heat to spare for that.

"Get it off, you're freezing."

"How else am I gonna warm up?"

"I mean it, you said you wouldn't make me - or him - move."

"Then don't move," came Johnny's simple reply, as he trailed the hand up under his t-shirt and pressed the length of it against Ten's lower belly deliberately, curling further round Ten, holding him there and daring him to take it.

It made Ten give a little gasp, quickly suppressed to avoid waking the cat.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, OK?" Ten conceded quickly.

Johnny took the hand away and pulled his t-shirt down again, covering up all the exposed skin. He rubbed Ten's hip through the clothing a little, trying to drum up a little warmth. He kissed Ten again, at the nape of his neck in the hairline.

"I just got worried, that's all," Johnny said against his skin. "It's not like you to ignore me. I thought maybe I'd done something. Or," he continued, and Ten could hear the smirk in his voice, could feel it against his neck, "maybe there's another man in your life."

Ten gazed down at Louis' peaceful little face, knowing Johnny so well, knowing exactly what stupid joke he was about to make and able to jump the gun.

"There is. He's a cat."

Johnny didn't even protest, he just propped himself up on one elbow and looked over Ten's shoulder at Louis.

"He's beautiful," he said.

"He is."

"He's bigger every time I see him."

"It's great, isn't it?" Ten's heart was swelling with pride, looking at this gorgeous creature. Even for all his extra roundness and few hairs out of place on his face markings, these things that others might have called imperfections, Ten saw them all and loved him all the more for it. He debated kissing his head again, but decided against it, not wanting to wake him. "Look at that face. He really is the most beautiful cat in the world."

"More like the most well-fed cat in the world."

"Shh, he's sleeping."

They both gazed at Louis together for a few minutes, before Johnny settled back and nuzzled his face into Ten's back.

"Well," Johnny said fake-nonchalantly, "when he gets to my size, don't leave me for him, OK?"

Ten couldn't help the confused face he pulled at that stupid joke, even though only Louis would be able to see it from that angle, but he had his eyes closed and he wouldn't know what it meant anyway.

"That was just weird. How sleepy are you?"

"Just a bit," he admitted.

"You wanna sleep? You can sleep."

"Yeah, I think so. Do you wanna sleep?"

"Nah, I'm not sleepy yet. But you sleep. I'm already trapped with one sleeping animal, a second one isn't gonna make much difference."

"Ugh, does this mean I have to get up to brush my teeth first?"

"Definitely, I'm afraid."

"Eurgh," he complained, shifting his whole body, already in contact along the length of Ten, that extra few millimetres closer, in denial.

"If you don't brush your teeth now, I won't kiss you in the morning."

Johnny finally tore himself away and rolled lazily onto his back in response.

"Guess I have to then, don't I?" he said.

"I guess you do."

"Alrighty then. I'm going."

"Go then."

"Fine."

With a beleaguered sigh, Johnny heft himself up, raiding Ten's drawers for some pyjamas he'd left on his previous stays (Ten's were always too short on him) and padded out to the bathroom.

Louis made a little noise and stretched in his sleep, his back legs straightening out behind him - he half-opened his eyes and gave a little purr to see Ten still there, which soon tailed off into proper sleep once more.

Ten heard Johnny's sleepy conversation with Hendery in the meantime - always considerate, he wanted to give Ten's roommate the heads-up:

_"Hey, sorry to interrupt - I'd like to sleep over here tonight, just sleep. Do you mind?"_

_"Of course not! You know that if you guys need any space to yourselves, I'll just sleep somewhere else, right?"_

_"That's really nice of you, but it's your room too - I don't wanna chase you out of your own bed. Besides, today I really do just wanna sleep."_

_"Then yeah, obviously, that's fine. You don't mind me being there?"_

_"It's your room, you be there all you want. If I'm imposing or making things awkward, don't just put up with it, I want you to let me know, OK?"_

_"You sure?"_

_"I'm sure."_

_"Then we're both sure, and I'm sure you're not imposing. Go! Sleep! I'll try to be quiet coming in later."_

_"Thanks, Hendery. You're a great friend."_

Johnny came back in and found the spare blanket in the cupboard, carefully arranging it over the non-cat parts of Ten, before climbing into it himself and resuming his position spooning Ten, just resting his mouth against Ten's neck in a long, drawn out kiss, breathing in his scent. He pulled away with a faint smack of lips.

"Sleepy yet?" Johnny asked.

"Not yet. Now get to sleep, before you think of anything else to do. And don't you dare move in your sleep. Not until Louis moves, anyway."

"Mmhmm," Johnny replied, the response by then barely more than vibrations against Ten's neck, his long limbs tucked perfectly into the backs of Ten's knees, aligned the whole way along Ten's back. Johnny was sleep-warm now, and between him, Louis, and the blanket, Ten felt a very pleasant temperature indeed. Beyond that, though, he just felt so at peace, so happy, which was its own kind of warmth. He was trapped between two of his favourite beings, and he wanted to just lie there and experience this moment forever. It felt enormous. It felt perfect.

"I love you so much," Ten said softly, his voice trembling slightly with the force of the feeling. "You know that?"

"Mm...hmm..." came Johnny's incoherent sleep-reply, and Ten huffed a breath of incredulous laughter, making Louis' whiskers twitch. Ten froze again and watched him, and luckily, he didn't seem to move after that.

 _Oh well,_ he thought to himself. _It doesn't matter. Even if neither of them know it right now, I don't care. I love them anyway._

And they all three stayed there until Ten, too, eventually fell asleep.


End file.
